Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-3672/1410020
IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-Alpha Secretion by PBMNC Stimulated with Polyclonal Antibodies Anti-Hrage (AGE-Like) is Enhanced by Hyperglycemia in Diabetes
Caroline Maria Oliveira Volpe, Elisa Duarte Candido, Celio J Castro-Junior, Paula Martins Ferreira Anjos and Jose Augusto Nogueira-Machado
Article Type: Original Article | First Published: July 18, 2016
Diabetes mellitus is a immunological disease characterized by metabolic deregulation and inflammation. Hyperglycemia of diabetes is associated with increase in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs interact with their respective receptors (RAGEs), a multiligand member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell surface molecules, inducing activation of cascade of several signaling pathways associated with diabetes vascular...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-3672/1410019
The Diagnostic Role of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Rheumatoid Arthritis
H Kobayashi, Y Kobayashi, S Ode, K Sugiyama, N Kitamura and M Takei
Article Type: Mini Review | First Published: July 16, 2016
In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cardiac involvement such as myocarditis and myocardial infarction is common. This cardiac involvement may have serious consequences and can contribute to worsening of a patient's cardiac-related morbidity and mortality. Importantly, cardiac involvement is typically clinically silent, only manifesting as cardiac dysfunction after an extended preclinical phase. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a sensitive noninvasive diagnostic technique that c...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-3516/1410049
Objective Quantitative CT Evaluation using Different Attenuation Ranges in Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis: Correlations with Visual Scores
Shin Matsuoka, Tsuneo Yamashiro, Shoichiro Matsushita, Atsuko Fujikawa, Kunihiro Yagihashi and Yasuo Nakajima
Article Type: Original Article | First Published: June 30, 2016
Objective quantitative evaluation for the extent of fibrosis has been introduced using CT densitometry in patients with interstitial lung diseases, however, there have been no definitive attenuation cut-off values to evaluate the extent of ground-glass opacity and fibrosis separately. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between quantitative CT measurements using different attenuation ranges and visual CT scores, and to determine whether the different attenuation ranges can ...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-2951/1410080
Transcatheter Closure of Large Bilateral Coronary Arteriovenous Fistulae using Amplatzer Vascular Plugs
Akika Ando, Adnan Bhopalwala and Christian Spies
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: June 23, 2016
A coronary arteriovenous (AV) fistula is defined as a connection between one or more coronary arteries and a cardiac chamber or great vessel, bypassing the myocardial capillary bed. For symptomatic patients, surgical intervention is the standard treatment plan. Recently, the use of transcatheter vascular plugs for the percutaneous closure of coronary AV fistulae has been reported in a few selected cases. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman with diffusely ectatic right and left coronary AV ...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5823/1510049
Building a Virtual Learning Environment for Distance Education in Nursing Oncology
Maria das Gracas Silva Matsubara and Edvane Birelo Lopes De Domenico
Article Type: Mini Review | First Published: May 31, 2016
The new demands of a globalized and competitive market have targeted health services to have an attitude focused on client welfare, through a process of providing services with quality, whose advantage is in the intellectual capital of its human resources which result from continuous processes of education....
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5742/1510016
Tubo-Ovarian Abscess in Second Trimester of Pregnancy after Transvaginal Oocyte Retrieval: Challenges in Management
Andrikopoulou M, Apostol DO R, Becker A and FR Nezhat
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: June 05, 2016
A 39-year-old primigravida female presented at 16 weeks gestation, with new onset of severe abdominal pain with nausea and vomiting. Her medical history was significant for infertility and ovarian endometrioma during oocyte retrieval. Current gestation was complicated by an emergent laparoscopy with drainage of a ruptured endometrioma in the first trimester. On examination, she had acute abdomen and sonogram showed a viable pregnancy and a 10 cm left adnexal mass. Emergent laparoscopy was perfor...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5858/1510013
Coronary Stenting in the Elderly: Current Status and Future Developments
SR Gnanenthiran, A Yong and HC Lowe
Article Type: Brief Review | First Published: June 21, 2016
An 86-year-old independent but frail woman living at home, presented with recurrent chest pain and pulmonary oedema. Her past history included recurrent medically managed non ST elevation myocardial infarction, heart failure and steroid responsive idiopathic thrombocytopenia (ITP). The electrocardiogram demonstrated lateral ST depression and T wave inversion. High sensitivity troponin T rose from 39 ng/L to 65 ng/L. Echocardiogram demonstrated normal left ventricular ejection fraction and hypoki...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-3656/1410110
Primary Epiploic Appendagitis
Neha Gupta, Tony A Abdel Maseeh, Leyden Standish-Parkin and Yekaterina Sitnitskaya
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: June 10, 2016
Epiploic appendagitis is a rare diagnosis in pediatric population. It is a benign, self-limiting condition caused by infarction, torsion or thrombosis of the fatty appendages on the serosal surface of the colon. It can be a diagnostic dilemma as it can mimic acute appendicitis or diverticulitis, depending on its location. We report a case of a teenage girl who presented with right lower quadrant abdominal pain without any associated vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. Laboratory work up was non-contr...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2572-3286.1510010
Outcomes Associated with a Heparin-Free Hemodialysis Protocol and Review of the Literature
Elizabeth Liang, Mayra Rodriguez, Melissa Mueller, Matthew K Abramowitz and Michele H Mokrzycki
Article Type: Review Article | First Published: May 20, 2016
Background: We aimed to determine outcomes associated with a heparin-free hemodialysis (H-HD) protocol in hospitalized patients. Methods: A retrospective study comparing 2 intra-dialytic heparin protocols: H + HD (routine heparin prime/bolus dosing) and H-HD (saline prime, heparin avoidance). HD circuit patency, need for intra-dialytic interventions and patient bleeding events were the outcomes....